The Blood of a Lover
by Rikku'sBrunetteDouble
Summary: The story of Paine and Baralai, beginning with the end. PaineBaralai fic. Rated M for future references
1. Prologue

The Blood of a Lover 

Prologue:

Paine stumbled into his arms. Her breathing was hoarse and her body was going limp. She knew she was dying and so did he. Baralai. Her partner. Her companion. Her lover. Night-dark eyes met blood red as he pulled her into a passionate embrace. They were both crying as if their tears were the debt repaid to all the suffering. But no matter how hard they tried, the war would not end. Baralai pulled her tight and kissed her with a fire that had not burned in Ifrit's chamber. Paine wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed back with an equal passion, but as the blood seeped through the wound in her stomach, out flowed her life too. Baralai pulled her away and watched her the pools of scarlet blood in her eyes fade to a blurred grey. As much as he denied it, the hopeless pain kept throbbing in his heart. His beloved was dead.


	2. Taydr and Meva

**Taydr and Meva**

Ever since her father had been killed by Sin, Meva had sworn to become a summoner and defeat Sin for the final time. Her twin sister, Taydr, had wanted to be her guardian. Their father, Atir, had crafted a deadly sword for Taydr. It was a one-handed blade with a skull on the hilt. The sword had gotten them out of many tricky run-ins with fiends. But Meva was not defenseless. Her mother, a priestess, had spent many weeks blessing a staff-blade with all kinds of enchantments. It was not only a magic rod, but a lethal weapon as well. Taydr was so different from Meva. Like her Al Bhed name, which meant Death, she was dark and cynical. She fought with such a determination that matched those twice her age. But she loved Meva with all of her heart. Meva, on the other hand, was like her Al Bhed name, Life. She was carefree, spirited, and lively. But like her sister, she loved. The two were inseparable. They always were out playing in the valley in their small village on the island beside Besaid. That's what had they were doing when it happened.

"Tag! You can't catch me!" screamed Meva as she bounced around, her silvery gray hair hanging around her pale face, making her red eyes stand out. She turned and ran away, being chased by Taydr throughout the grasses.

"Please. I'm just going easy on you so I don't end up wiping your guts off my sword," commented Taydr as she ran after Meva, her long, luxurious, blonde hair falling past her golden face, her swirled emeralds widening from the strain of sprinting. The two 12-year-olds fell in the grass and lay on their backs, looking up at the flawless blue sky.

"When do you think that I can finally pray to a fayth?" asked Meva to her partner in crime.

"Soon. We're going to the temple in Besaid tomorrow, remember?" replied Taydr for the umpteenth time. There carried a conversation about summoning and Sin for what seemed like hours. If they had thought to pay attention, they would notice the sky getting increasingly darker and the winds blowing slightly harder. Only after a gust came that sent the two girls tumbling did they instantly notice what was going on. They drew their weapons and got up.

"Meva, go get Mother. Tell her to hide and hide with her. I'll hold off the Sinspawns," said Taydr.

"I'm not leaving you," replied Meva in a serious tone full of worry.

"Go!" Ordered Taydr.

"What if you don't come back?" whimpered Meva with tears in her eyes.

"A guardian must protect the summoner at all costs, even with one's life," quoted the blonde.

"I can't let you die, Taydr! I love you too much to let you go," cried Meva, defeated. She knew she couldn't win. She would just have to pray to Yevon that her sister lived.

She ran like never before. Turning around to watch her twin strike down a Sinspawn, she ran into one herself. It went down in one strike, and she kept on running. Meva found her mother in a cave, dodging falling rocks.

"Mother!" Meva screamed. Elan looked up to see her daughter safe and sound. This small distraction proved fatal as a large stalactite fell onto her head, followed by other rocks. Meva ran over.

"Meva," she heard, "Live… love… you… Taydr," said the dying woman in short breathes. Finally, her chest stilled, and her hand grew cold. Elan was gone.

"Mother," Meva wept. Her parents were gone. Now all she had was Taydr. But somehow she knew that things weren't going to turn out right. Meva picked up her staff-blade and began the sending dance. As her small feet carried her in circles, her staff-blade twirling, she watched her mother disappear. One by one, the pyreflies leapt from her body and began their ascent to the Farplane. Meva ran out too soon to see one last pyrefly absorb the tears cried by Meva and the bloodshed of her mother.

When Meva got out of the cave, everything was deathly silent. She ran over to where the sisters had been playing tag a few minutes ago. Lying sprawled on the ground with a claw in her back was Taydr. She was still breathing, her eyes glazed over. Meva reached down and turned her sister over. She pulled out an antidote, reviving the poison from the blonde. She reached and pulled the claw out and forced potion after potion down Taydr's throat. The girl's green eyes became bright once again and she smiled.

"Taydr! You're alive! I'm so glad! I love you and I don't know what I'd do without you!" all Meva could do was cry into her sister's bloodstained robe and squeeze her tight.

But all Taydr could do was smile. She picked up Meva's dropped staff-blade off of the ground and handed it to her. Meva took it and began the sending dance, watching her sister the whole time. But this couldn't be right. Taydr was fading and beginning to exert pyreflies. Unable to grasp the fact that her sister was dead, Meva fell to the ground, and never finished her dance. But by the time she got up, Taydr and all the others were gone, like a bad dream.

Meva rolled over and felt the ground. She could feel the sandy earth and the cold metal of Taydr's sword. Suddenly, all of the earlier day came rushing back to her and Meva wept until her eyes were dry. But something snapped. Meva was not the lively summoner that would defeat Sin along with her guardian twin sister. She was now Paine, the lone warrior who would never show or experience emotion again as to never feel more of what she was: pain.

Paine decided to put her staff-blade in the cave where her mother died. It might signify something if she came back years later. She walked in and was greeted by a large red elemental. The most rare of all, it was a blood elemental. Paine took up her staff-blade and struck it. Somehow, the elemental went down in one hit. But after it faded, its one pyrefly flying away, the staff-blade shattered, and all that was left of her mother, was Paine's bloodied robe.

Paine heard the silence and knew for sure that everyone and everything alive on the island was herself. She walked out of the cave, numbly. Picking up her dead sister's sword, she realized that the thought of becoming the summoner to defeat Sin with her sister by her side was no more, a broken dream. Paine vowed to never love again. All it caused was hurt and crush. What more could Sin take from her? Nothing. Paine should gain nothing to not lose it.

She walked out to the shore, her feet being lapped at by the ocean. Taking one last look back at the wreckage of her home, she dove into the water, never to return, with tears in her eyes.


	3. Baralai

**Baralai**

Meva opened her eyes. She felt hot and wet. Reaching over to wake up Taydr and ask what was going on, everything hit her at once. Taydr and the rest of her family were gone, dead. Paine squeezed her eyes shut but the tears still came. Standing up, Paine felt very dizzy. She made her way over to a nearby rock and sat down. There she passed out and fell onto the hot sandy beach of Besaid Island.

_Dream_

"Taydr!" Meva ran through the grasses, "Taydr!" Taydr was standing at the edge of the field. Meva ran and reached out to embrace her. Taydr disappeared and Meva fell into oblivion.

_End Dream_

Paine woke up with a jolt and screamed. It occurred to her that she was not on the rock anymore. But she didn't care. The worst thing possible had happened to her. Where she was did not matter much.

"Finally you've woken up!" a boy with white hair was looking into Paine's blood red eyes with earth brown ones. "What's your name?" he asked.

Paine sat up, but stayed silent. How should she respond? If she said Meva, she would be lying. Meva was dead along with her sister Taydr. But was she really Paine? She still wore Meva's robes, but they were bloodied, as was her soul. She decided not to answer until she knew for sure herself

"My name is Baralai," the boy said after a pause, "How old are you?"

"Twelve," answered Paine with a hollow voice.

"I'm fifteen," Baralai answered, "You look older than twelve."

"I've gone through more in one day than you will in your entire life," Paine replied coldly.

"Really?" asked Baralai, teasing, "Did you fight Sin with just a sword yesterday?"

That just pushed Paine over the edge for some reason. "No, but my sister did. She was my best friend. She told me to go and hide. She died to protect me. I was unable to help. I could have prevented her death. I would give anything to have died instead of her." She dropped her head into her hands and wept bitterly.

Baralai walked out of the room, leaving Paine alone. He figured she needed to be that way for a little bit. He remembered when his parents had died. When the world as he knew it had ended. His older brother Shaene had had to take care of him after that, for he was only six years old. Too young to fully understand what had happened. But Shaene was with the Crusaders and got drafted five years later for a battle with Sin. He never came back. Baralai had been alone and had to live in Besaid with the priests in the temples.

Paine calmed herself and looked up, only to find Baralai gone. Though she had only just met him, she had felt a blanket of comfort and understanding when he was there. Feeling alone once again, she lay down on the bed and cried herself to sleep.

Baralai walked in with a bundle of clothes. Taking off the mysterious girl's blanket, he lay the clothes down on the floor. The teenager untied the ribbons and ties on the girl's bloodied robe and slipped it off of her. Being as careful as he could, he removed her boots. Her arms twitched and her head thrust to one side, and a small 'no' escaped her lips, but no other movement was made. Baralai backed up to make sure that nothing more happened. But he paused a bit longer than needed when he checked her.

Downy silver hair cascaded down a milky-white face onto well-formed shoulders. And hidden under a white cover-up, was a fairly developed chest, which followed down to a well-toned abdomen. A small but modest pair of shorts went over semi-curvy hips, which led to shapely, muscular legs. Being fifteen, Baralai couldn't help but feel giddy from having an attractive girl within his area without protest. But the priests had always taught him to control his feelings. And not being a sick person, he would not take advantage of her, no matter how lovely.

Baralai picked up a green dress with black embroidery of Yevon symbols and unfolded it. Putting it over Paine's head, he somehow slipped her arms through the sleeves and brought the dress to her ankles. Picking up a pair of brown boots, he slipped them on her tiny feet. But Paine began to stir so Baralai ran out of the room as silently as he came in before she woke up.

_Author's note: how did I do? If it sucks, I'm sorry. It's 12:30 AM and I am too tired to see straight. So I apologize again. And I hope I was modest enough with the dressing thing. God knows what my friends would think if I was perverted with it. And it won't be pointless in the next chapter. And I will update sooner too. I love you all. Thank you for your reviews!_

_-Elizabeth_


	4. Awkward Feelings

**Awkward Feelings**

Meva had always been a heavy sleeper. Yojimbo could have sent his dog on her and she wouldn't have stirred. But Paine woke suddenly to Baralai's touch. She decided to feign sleep though. She did, however, feel nervous when he removed her boots and robe. Pretending to have a nightmare, she twitched and mumbled a "no!" and he backed off. Paine waited for him to leave. But he didn't. Instead, he waited and walked closer. Paine felt herself being lifted and still pretended to sleep. A warm material was brought over her head and her arms pulled through. She took this as okay and relaxed. She opened her eyes when Baralai ran out.

Paine looked at her current clothes. Her dress was very comfortable, but seeing the symbols of Yevon, she scowled. She wanted nothing to do with the temple after what happened. It all reminded her of being a summoner without her guardian sister. Paine stood up. Without knowing where she was going, she started to walk outside the hut. There she saw Baralai in the woods. Running behind a tree, she watched him. Concentrating, he slowly lifted his large staff and waved it forward. A great wateraga spell came crashing down into a ditch, forming a stream. Paine sighed in awe. Taydr had been the one to learn black magic. Baralai looked up, but Paine was not fast enough to duck back behind the tree. A stop spell hit her and Baralai walked over. He smiled. Paine eyed him warily. The stop spell wore off and the pair started walking through the woods.

"Why did you give me the dress?" asked Paine.

"Your robe was bloody," he replied.

"Why did you dress me?" she insisted.

"I knew you wouldn't wear the dress if I left it. And you do look lovely in it anyways," replied Baralai with a smile.

Paine sat down on a fallen tree. "Where is my robe?" she whispered.

"I have it," Baralai said, "why?"

Tears formed in Paine's eyes. "My mother wove it for me. I was to be a summoner. 'A robe for my little Meva' she would always say."

"What happened, Meva?" asked the teenager with concern.

"My name is Paine!" she snapped. And with that, she ran out to the beach and swam back to her old island, collapsing on the shore, crying.

Hours later, Paine woke up in a field. She tried to get up. But she realized that Baralai was holding her against him. Her back curved with his stomach. She remembered sleeping in her father's arms that way when she was little. It felt familiar sleeping like that, so she snuggled back up to Baralai and closed her eyes again.

_Author's note: sorry it's so short. I can't think of anything to lead up to the Crimson Squad. This is hard to do. Please give me ideas in your review! I love you all_

_Elizabeth_

_P.S. Sorry the update took soooooooo long._


	5. Lust

_**To all of my lovely reviewers:**_

Chapter One Reviews:

**RenFan33**: I know. Paine is awesome. But I guess that's how things turned out. :'(

Chapter 2 Reviews:

DragonGirl323: Thanks! I'm glad you like it. I have no idea where this is going though  
Anonimos: hehe sure! I don't get it either.  
xSarizar: zombie eyes show "yes, master"  
JimmysWorld: you already attacked me.   
coldhardPaine85: I'm glad! And I definitely will update. (that's what I'm doing now.)

Chapter 3 Reviews: 

**dial666: **Sorry. Long writer's block break. Hehe?

**anonimos: **Well, 15-year-old boys are scary. And I know a 34-C cup girl who's 12, (and she's not fat), so I'm not sure you could call them "children." Anyways, I'm definitely going to continue this!

**xSarizar: **Yes, Baralai is sexy! I just wish that I had some posters of him 

**DarkenedPetals: **Hehe, I agree. Thanks! I really like where this is going, but I'm having a hard time deciding exactly what to say.

**DragonGirl323: **Danke! I'm glad you like it. And I'm glad I didn't go overboard with this.

Chapter 4 Reviews:

**Kairi: **Well, actually, I was feeling angsty and was wondering how Paine actually would like to die. So this is what came out. It was supposed to be a one-shot, but it seemed too short.

**DragonGirl323: **WAAAAH! I just don't know where to go with this story. It's five years 'til Crimson Squad so that's going to be a few chapters. At this rate, tho, it could take decades. 

Lust 

When Baralai saw Paine run away, it stung him. The subtle remembrance of how he acted when Shaene was mentioned, shortly after he died was painful. But, following an instinct, Baralai went after her. After about an hour of swimming and searching, he found Paine sleeping on a beach. It was both a beautiful and haunting sight to behold. The dress had been cast off from its heaviness and lay next to her on the shore. Paine's slender body shivered in the dusk coolness, and her hair was stuck to her face. Unlike most, who when they sleep, look at peace, she looked worried, with a frown trembling on her lips. Baralai slowly picked up the sleeping girl, and looked around. He spotted a soft-looking area and set her down. Lying down across from her, Baralai studied Paine. Her high cheekbones looked hollow from stress. Her skin looked deathly pale, even compared to the white Besaid sand in the middle of the summer. He absentmindedly reached over and stroked her cheek. The skin was so soft, but had a hardness to it, as if the bones were just under the surface. Rolling over Paine so that her back was pressed against his chest, Baralai stroked her stomach and pressed his face to the back of her head, breathing in her scent.

He realized that he had just met Paine two or three days ago. But she was beautiful. Baralai cursed himself. Yevon had taught him not to lust, but to love. He couldn't say he was in love, because the only things Paine had said didn't really give a window into her personality. He had an idea she didn't even know who she was. Yet a strange feeling came over when he held her like that. It felt like Paine belonged in his grip. But she was only twelve. He didn't really care though. The loss of her family just a few days ago seemed to give her a wise view of how cruel the world really was. Still, twelve years old is pretty young. All of this thinking was too stressful, and Baralai drifted off to sleep with Paine in his arms.

Baralai woke up to crimson. Her eyes seemed to be staring right into his soul. Their gazes met. Paine smiled for the first time.

"Morning, sunshine," laughed Baralai. Paine nodded.

"Look who's talking," she said, gesturing towards his tousled hair.

"Where are we?" groaned Baralai tiredly, stretching.

"In my front yard. There's my ho-" Paine cut herself off as she looked up. Her eyes widened in horror. There, on the plain, was the only house left standing after Sin's attack. Almost in a trance, she stood up and walked through the door. Everything was in order. The house looked exactly the way it was when Meva and Taydr had gone out to play. Against her will, Paine pulled herself towards a door with a tapestry that read _E vemm ymvyoc muja oui. Cmaab mega pypac, E vemm ymvyoc bnudald oui (I will always love you. Sleep like babes, I will always protect you.) _It had been woven by Elan for her daughters when she was pregnant. Paine pushed open the door. A cold wind hit her. Sitting on the bed, was Taydr. Or rather, the fiend that used to be Taydr.

"You should have sent me when you had the chance," hissed the dead

"I-I-I couldn't," stammered Paine.

"You left me to rot in this place, and promised you'd never return," spat Taydr. She grinned, "Well look who's back."

"You aren't Taydr," a tear rolled down Paine's face, "my sister always loved me and forgave me for anything."

"Ha! Foolish child," the ghost whispered with venom, "You only knew half of Taydr. I am Vengeance, the rage she locked away."

"You aren't my sister. She would have locked you away for her whole life if she was still alive," glared Paine, her eyes blurred with tears.

"Yes, after her death, I was unlocked," seethed Vengeance, "but you left me to die in this dump. Come on, why don't you be a dear and send me, _Meva_." The name was spat out like the poison.

"Meva's dead," wept the living girl bitterly, "she died right along with you."

"Then you shall die too!" screamed the pure rage kept under wraps for so long.

Paine darted to her corner of the room. Reaching behind the dresser, she found something she never thought would come in handy. "Ha! My axe!" Meva's father had tried to make an axe for Taydr. But whenever she fought with it, she never could kill the fiends. The handle didn't fit her grip, and the blade was too small. But instead of throwing the axe away, Taydr had given it to her sister, seeing her longing looks at the weapon. Meva had still used it sometimes instead of her staff-blade, but with the constant practicing, she found she could not handle the axe as well as the long blade. Still, Paine picked up the weapon.

"You are not my sister," she said through tears, "and I wouldn't have it any other way." Paine lifted up the axe and struck the forgotten demon. It had no effect.

"Ha you think you can hurt me with that piece of scrap metal?" cackled Taydr's rage, grabbing the axe and throwing it to the floor in a thousand pieces as though it were made of glass. She lunged towards Paine and tackled her to the ground. Paine turned quickly, trying to dodge, but ended up falling on the shattered axe. A thousand knives cut into her and a single tear ran down Paine's cheek.

Suddenly, she was turned over, and the rage stared into her eyes mockingly. She reached down to rub the shards into the poor girl's stomach, but when the ghost lowered her hand, she cried out, her hand burnt.

Paine scurried out from under her enemy. She realized that Taydr's love in her blood was too much for the evil being. Throwing herself at the burnt girl, she felt the sting of blood leaving, and blacked out.

She woke up on a rock. Baralai had pulled out all of the metal shards, and was casting cure on her. Sweat lining his brow, he bandaged her wounds and looked at his handiwork. When he saw Paine open her eyes, he smiled.

"You had me scared for a while, there," he cooed, stroking her cheek. Paine smiled with tears in her eyes. Here was someone who cared about her enough to give her shelter, chase her when she ran away, and basically save her life. And she had just met him a few days ago. Paine studied him. A headband held up long snowy white hair. Dark brown eyes were held in a face of copper brown. He looked beautiful in a new way to Paine.

Whether it was lust or love, they would never know, but it was fact that Baralai's mouth came crashing down first. Paine was taken back for a second, but realized that she wanted this and relaxed. But Baralai pulled back.

"I can't," he said, "you're twelve. And I just met you." He cursed his hormones.

"Yes you can," Paine replied, "I didn't say I didn't enjoy it."

Baralai sighed, "The temple would never allow it."

Paine gasped, "Taydr! What happened to the blonde girl in the house?"

"What blonde girl?" Baralai asked confused.

"She faded," realized Paine with a sigh. "Long before my sister died, she locked up her anger. I remember once, we were fighting a fiend. It almost killed me. But I saw rage burning in her eyes as she struck it down. The anger was dangerous and she saw it too. It was forgotten from that point on. Taydr had killed her anger. Or so I thought. It was no longer a part of Taydr's being, although locked in her soul. When she died, the hatred came out." Paine had spoken not from previous knowledge. The words just came out.

"Well, it's over," said Baralai, "let's go back."

"Back to where? I have no home now," said Paine in almost a whisper.

"You can live at the temple with me," burst Baralai, impulsively, "But wait, you're Al Bhed, aren't you?"

"No," said Paine, "My mother was a priestess. But she admired the Al Bhed language. My father was Al Bhed, though. But the culture did not influence us much"

"Your mother was Priestess Elan?" asked Baralai, his eyes wide, "I met her. She was the one who blessed Shaene when he went off to battle Sin."

"Do you remember a child?" Paine asked tentatively.

"I remember two," Baralai chuckled, "One, a blonde girl in concentration. The other, a cheerful little silver-haired girl hugging close to her mother."

Paine closed her eyes and smiled. She remembered the first time she had ever gone to Besaid. The Crusaders were leaving and Elan had come to do a blessing. But they never went back. The priests threw Elan out of the temple once they found out that Atir was Al Bhed.

Paine and Baralai got up and swam back to Besaid in silence. It was dark when they returned to the temple. Paine waited outside while Baralai went inside and requested that Paine stay at the temple.

The priest walked out. "You're Elan's daughter, aren't you?" he asked slowly.

"I am," Paine's voice shook.

"What redeeming quality can there be for an Al Bhed sympathizer? Name one, and I'll let you stay."

"I was training to be a summoner. I was to come obtain Valefor a few days ago, but Sin attacked our island."

"Prove it," sneered the priest.

"How can I? My whole family died," replied Paine in an agitated tone."

"Dance a sending," he challenged.

Baralai led the two to the water and handed Paine his staff. It was longer and lighter, but it would have to do. Paine walked out a good bit into the water and concentrated. She twirled. The familiar steps came to Paine as she danced. She finished. The priest was open-mouthed.

"Well, is that proof enough that she's here to help us?" Baralai smiled.

"Very well," the priest grudgingly agreed, "But we don't have any spare rooms. She'll have to share with you."

"Perfect," said Baralai, both he and Paine hiding smiles, "And I'll teach her everything I know."

"Good," said the priest, "just don't fiddle with black magic. It's dangerous."

"Sure thing," replied the boy, winking at Paine. Paine felt happy. Maybe the world wasn't so cruel.

My long awaited update! Please comment, but don't flame. I don't like flames hehe. Was Paine really too young? I don't think so. I know soooo many people who have their first French kisses at age ten. Yes, it's disgusting.

_Toodles,   
Elizabeth_


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